Three Years in the Making
by scullysspaceship
Summary: After Han and Leia attend a small wedding celebration, Han finally confronts the feelings he's been having about Leia, in the aftermath of one of their famous arguments, things take a slightly different route than normal.
1. Chapter 1

It was the wedding that did it, the words 'thank you for making me the happiest man alive' had settled strangely in Han Solo's mind. It had given him flashbacks to the past three years of his life, all their hateful comments, every argument, every flirtatious, yet vicious comment aimed at degrading the other. Leia Organa had never made him happy, but she certainly made him feel something.

He watched her carefully, the way she'd turned her head in his direction, but never raised it to meet his gaze, he couldn't tell if he'd wanted her to do so or not. She was already making her way out of the room, having said her congratulations, however emotionless it came across. Han knew what he had to do, but he wasn't confident in it, for the first time in a long time, he was unsure of himself.

The heels of her shoes made echoing sounds around the corridor, so much so he wouldn't be surprised if she hadn't heard him following her, but her lack of shock when he grabbed her wrist told him she definitely knew he was behind her.

"I don't think we've finished talking, do you?" He said, he'd basically thrown her into the supply cupboard, completely disregarding her snide comment for him to let go of her.

The door shut behind them, and his voice was far clearer now than it had been in her office earlier, with no bleeping droids or faint background noise of people, it was just them, alone together. Han was no fool, he knew this argument was going to have an impact, but at this moment, he still didn't quite know how to proceed.

One of her braids had fallen across her face, proving how he had forcefully pushed her to be where they are now, "I give your rebellion as much as I can and all I get is you tearing strips out of me, I mean, how professional is that?" He said, not having to wait long for her reply.

"Professional? You're the one who took a job beneath your experience just to spite me" she fired back, quick to anger as ever.

"Only for the money, sweetheart" Han responded, trying not to sound too angry, he knew that Leia hated him acting as though he was only in it for the money, "Oh yeah, but of course you wouldn't know what it means to actually be desperate, would you?"

"I don't have to listen to this" she said, visibly wounded by that last comment, she pushed to try and leave but Han put his hand over the handle, knowing she wouldn't touch him.

"Yes you do" Han responded, his temper rising.

"Open the door" she said, alarmingly calmly, still not looking at him.

"No"

"Open the door" she said more forcefully, now meeting his gaze.

"No" he repeated "Not until you listen to me" he said, realising the problem. Leia had always had control, he suspected that nobody had given her a direct 'no' he knew she was shocked at how he stood his ground with her, and he knew she was taken aback by his anger. So much so, she took two steps backwards, calmly giving way for him to speak.

He too, stepped forward, standing mere inches from her, and when she made no move to step away, he knew she was beginning to accept this tension between the two of them. It was difficult to simply ignore his thoughts about someone like Leia.

She couldn't believe it, Han Solo of all people more or less throwing her into a supply cupboard as if she was a doll, and then proceeding to throw the usual hateful comments her way, she was used to being called a spoilt princess by now, and she was starting to accept that maybe he was right.

He simply stared at her for a moment, regaining his calm, before he spoke. "Look, your worshipfullness, I'm leaving soon anyway, just as soon as the _Falcon_ is ready, me and Chewie are gone, so you can keep your precious money"

This is just who Han was, someone who supposedly doesn't care about losing his job, or who isn't threatened by any higher powers. Leia knew she was right, he had taken this job to spite her, even if he claims it was for the money. How could she not be angry at him? He'd put both their jobs on the line, deep down she knew she would've done the same but she was determined to stay angry. Anger was better than the alternative.

"You just gave a problem working under me, don't you?" Leia said, not waiting for him to finish his last statement, she knew this was true. He hated the fact she had power.

"No I don't have a problem being under you" he said, rather quickly, and it took her aback slightly, the flirtatious japes were one thing but she couldn't handle this, being in an enclosed space with him, with nobody around to stop them.

"Oh" Leia said, unwillingly letting out a small laugh at that last comment, she hoped he didn't notice the pleading behind her eyes that betrayed her so.

"I just want a little more respect" he claimed, narrowing his tone, and making his face difficult to read.

"Well then, earn it" Leia said, knowing this comment could be taken two ways, she didn't know which way she wanted this conversation to go, simply another argument, or something more.

"Leia, I am an ex-smuggler and a half paid rebellion pilot, not some personal relations droid" he said, Leia picked up on the sarcasm in his voice.

"Yes, but you have an ego the size of this planet"

"Oh you can talk"

"Oh grow up" she said, turning to leave, she felt his hand on her wrist before he'd even spoken.

"Or what?"

That was it, she'd lost her footing nearly as she'd been spun around into his arms, his lips were on hers so suddenly it shocked her, she remained for a second, taking in everything she was feeling, all the memory, all then built up lust and want, then she came back to reality, and pushed him away.

She didn't mean to slap him, it just happened, and now they were back to that same feeling. Their emotions were running wild, she could barely contain herself, she nearly apologised for hitting him but she remembered who he was. This was Han. The same man who saved her life on the Death Star. But this was also the man who always threatened to leave, only to appear and play the role of the war hero. She was angry. She was so angry.

"What do you think you're doing" She'd said, still comprehending that kiss.

"What do you think I'm doing?" Han had said, his hands were still on her waist, holding her to him, she'd longed for this many times, she'd dreamt of him being intimate with her occasionally, and she's never thought it would happen, she was in shock, this had to be the shock talking.

"You're so arrogant" they were moving closer together again, she was right, he was arrogant, but that is why Leia was so undoubtedly attracted to him.

"Shut up" he'd said, before their lips met again. This time for longer, and with actual intimacy. The feel of his lips on hers was so alien, she felt as though this was just another dream, she couldn't believe she was actually doing this.

She'd moaned in the back of her throat as one arm reached under her thighs to lift her up, the other supporting her back and it hit the shelf of spare supplies, Han pushed her dress up her thighs so she could wrap her legs around him for support.

She deepened the kiss, he'd been in control through this entire situation so she took charge for a moment, opening her mouth to allow further exploration, his tongue accepted this invite and entered her mouth whilst his hands were on her legs and backside, the way he kneaded her ass caused sensations throughout her body she didn't know existed. Every part of her wanted to touch him more, and as their tongues danced together, she felt more than she'd done since they'd arrived on this new base.

The smell of him, the gel in his hair that was now engraved into her fingers, his breath on her neck as he moved away from her lips, he kissed up and down her neck, reaching her collar. Leia aimlessly reached behind her to pull the zip of her dress down, but Han stopped her, staring into her eyes for a moment, as if giving her one last chance to back away from this, but she couldn't.

Han purposefully pulled the zipper down slowly, he noticed it drove her wild, he smiled into her neck.

When he first saw her on the Death Star, he'd been conflicted about what he felt about her, it was obvious she was beautiful, even as a prisoner her dress still looked sexy on her, and the way she's taken control of the situation had attracted him to her, but after they'd escaped the garbage, she'd managed to insult him, Chewie and his ship all before they'd even left the Death Star. She was infuriating, but she wouldn't be Leia if she wasn't.

And now Leia was in his arms, kissing him. He'd resumed his assault on her lips, and she had responded in kind, the sexual tension between the two was visible in the air, and they were both becoming rather hot. As their breath ran out, Han pulled his head back to look at her, and as Leia opened her eyes, she was left staring into his, he even gave a small smile to which she couldn't help but return, in a sudden wave of emotion, she realised where she was, and how much her back hurt being pushed against this shelf, she pushed at his shoulder lightly and Han took the hint and backed off.

Han let Leia down, she was now stood in front of him, her dress barely covering her arse, and with one of the shoulder straps hanging off.

"Is it bad to say that I've wanted that for a long time?" Han said, before Leia put a gentle kiss to his lips.

"Not at all, Captain" she said, rather smugly before repositioning her dress, flattening it out, pulling her shoulder strap back up. And walking to the door of the stock cupboard, pausing momentarily when Han placed a hand on her shoulder, he pulled the zip the remaining way up her back, before grabbing her braid lightly and pulling it back over her shoulder.

She didn't look over her shoulder as she left, but Han knew this was far from over.

 _thanks for reading, let me know what you thought, if you want me to continue this story let me know, I originally wrote it as a one-shot but going back through to edit it I came up with a few ideas of where this could go, once again, thanks -L_


	2. Chapter 2

Leia was finding it very hard to concentrate on what the general was saying, her thoughts were running away from her as she tried to concentrate on the paperwork in front of her. Rieekan was trying to talk to her about costing and some numbers on a chart that ultimately meant they were struggling to feed everyone, and no matter how much Leia nodded her head or wrote something down, she just couldn't focus.

She had never had a problem with this before, work had always been the first thing on her mind, no distractions, but then she realised that was because nobody had ever played on her thoughts in the same way Han did. He was just so different, similarly, for all the right reasons and for all the wrong reasons. She had been so mad at him, the argument they'd had was the biggest yet, she was sorry for the things she'd said, and she was sure he was too, they were always sorry.

It didn't stop her ignoring him for the rest of the day though, she had made a point to turn around in the corridors or purposefully avoid eye contact with him, she just couldn't bring herself to speak to him, so when he followed her and pushed her into the store cupboard, she had braced herself for another fight.

She had gotten just the opposite though, Leia wasn't often surprised by things, but that, that surprised her. She had no idea Han even thought about her in that way, she'd be lying to herself if she said she had never had those thoughts, she wasn't blind, Han was handsome, but he was arrogant, irritating and aggravating all the same.

"Princess?" Rieekan said, clearly picking up on her lack of focus.

"Yes, sorry general, i'm just having a very strange day" she said, half smiling and then focusing back on the work in front of her, she managed to keep her thoughts at bay for the rest of the meeting.

Her schedule was empty for the rest of the day, which was rare considering the masses of work they usually had coming in, so once the meeting concluded, she made her way through to the dining hall.

Hoth was cold. she hated it here, there was no where to escape to, she was stuck inside this dull base with nothing to do for the rest of her day, even when her days were full of paperwork, at least the time passed slightly faster than it did when there was nothing. especially today, she had nothing else to do but sit and think.

There weren't many people in the main hall, everyone tended to go about their work and eat at the same time, but Leia made an effort to stay and eat with the pilots or the workers, she didn't want them to think they were forgotten about. She picked up a drink and a small portion of food and made her way to sit on a table on her own, it seemed in the time it took her to find some food, the last few people on the hall had left, Leia noticed more and more that people were becoming more distant from each other, it was as though people were losing faith in what they were doing, Leia blamed the weather.

She was alone for a while, eating in silence with her data pad on the table next to her, she was tapping through some notifications and deleting unimportant notices. She was so involved with her work, she barely noticed someone sit down next to her.

"Do you ever stop working?" he asked, Leia took another sip of her drink before turning to face him.

"Sometimes, but rarely" she said with a slight smirk.

"Why are you sat alone?"

"I'm not anymore" she smirked

"Alright smartass" Han said, placing his own drink on the table in front of him.

"Actually, i've not got any work for the rest of the day" Leia said, going back to his earlier point.

"You mean, you have a day off? what even are those?" he said, earning another smile from Leia. "You look nicer when you smile"

"Hence why I don't do it too often" she said, finally powering down her data pad and fully turning to face him.

"I think you should"

"What, and make people think I'm going soft, you don't know me very well, Solo"

"I know you better than most" he said, now giving her a smirk of his own.

"Right, of course, how could I forget your little stunt from earlier" she was trying to act mad, but Han saw straight through her, she couldn't even pretend she didn't enjoy it… him.

"Stunt? i'd call it more than that, sweetheart" he said with a wink.

"Right, sorry, stupid" she said as sternly as she could, before taking another sip of her drink.

"So, I was gonna ask Luke if he wanted to join me and Chewie for a game night on the Flacon"

"Are you asking my permission or inviting me?" she said, a sarcastic smile playing on her lips.

"Well, it was an invite but i'm afraid we don't admit smartass princesses"

"Okay, so what if I was simply a friend for tonight?" she said, averting her gaze from his.

"I think we could make that work, sweetheart" he said, a genuine smile toying on his face.

"Okay, ill come round later then, and ill be sure to leave my smartass behind"

"Not all of it, its a pretty nice ass when its not being smart" Han said with a wink as Leia stood up to leave, leaving him there on his own, as they were talking they hadn't even noticed the hall filling up again, Leia opted to leave before the other pilots came for their lunch and she started even more wagers about herself and Han. Normally, she would've yelled at him or become defensive after his last comment, but she didn't, instead, she decided to leave it there and see where this would lead.


	3. Chapter 3

Leia worried about a lot of things. She worried mostly about the large problems- the empire, the rebel base, the food supplies, and she worried about small things too, like what clothes to wear to meetings and if her hair looked right, but she had never found herself worrying about Han. And not worrying about him as a person, but worrying about what would happen when she was around him, so technically, she was worried about her own will power, which generated a spiral of worry that ended with her doubting her position in the rebel alliance all together.

She spent a lot of her time stressed, she couldn't remember the last time she had sat down and just relaxed, she had so much work to do, most of the time she could deal with it, but it just so happened that today, sitting alone in her room with nothing but her thoughts- she could barely keep her tears at bay.

Displaying her emotion to anyone but herself was off limits. It wasn't easy, she was put into so many situations every day and sometimes all she wanted to do was scream or cry, but she never did. Not until she was safely tucked away in her own room, did she let herself let go.

She showered and washed her hair, this god forsaken planet was freezing, but at least the hot water somewhat worked. She didn't want to make a fuss out of tonight, she would wear her usual snow suit, and wear her hair in a simple braided crown, after the events of earlier in the day, she wanted to keep things simple, she didn't want to look like she was trying- though, she didn't even know herself if she was trying.

She was aimlessly sat around for the rest of the day, waiting for an acceptable time to head over to the falcon, and when that time came, she walked through the door to her room, head held high, and headed for the hanger.

Tonight was going to be strange, because the relationship between herself and Han felt different, not in such a way that she couldn't be her usual self around him, even if around him her usual self was argumentative and stubborn, she felt as though her barriers were falling down, and in her own, uncharacteristic way, she wasn't going to stop them.

The doors were shut for the night, the cold was creeping in too fast lately, and it only added to the claustrophobic atmosphere of the base, Leia hated this place, but for now, it was the safest place they could be.

The lights had been switched on, giving the place a sort of grey glow, and when she reached the hanger, the light became sharp and harsh against her eyes, and she had to steady herself before walking over to the falcon.

It was one of the biggest ship they had, when parked next to the X-Wings, it looked monstrous, yet upon closer inspection, it looked nothing more than a bucket of bolts, but it was so obviously his, which Leia couldn't help but smile at.

Leia made her way over to the ramp, it was dropped down so she welcomed herself on board, she headed towards the cockpit to look for Han or Chewie, but neither were there. Suddenly curious, Leia stepped inside the small room, and looked around, the chairs were clearly replacements, probably scavenged from another ship, and the control panel was dull, with the engines switched off, there were no lights, so it looked even more run down and out of power. Leia really struggled to see the same attraction Han did to this ship. There were so many exposed wires and scary-looking panels that seemed to be hanging on my one or two bolts, regardless, Leia knew this ship did the job, and as long as it kept Han and Chewie safe she didn't really care about one or two loose wires.

Leia found herself thinking more about Han, how he got this ship, how he met Chewie, where he came from, she knew it was Corellia, but she didn't know where exactly, or when he left, and she surprised herself at how much she wanted to know. Lost in her thoughts, she didn't even realise someone was now stood behind her, she'd somehow found herself sat in the co-pilots chair, and she was startled from her thoughts with a hand being placed on her shoulder.

She spun around quickly, and brought a hand to her chest, visualising her shock, and she was suddenly stood in front of Han, who had a triumphant smirk on his face.

"Hope you weren't plannin' on flying my ship out of here, princess"

"Why? You don't think I could?" Leia responded, trying to hide the fact he'd truly scared her.

"I know you could, that's what worries me" he said, his smile turning genuine.

"Is Luke here yet?" she asked, trying to diffuse the conversation.

"Yeah the kid is sat at the table with Chewie" he said, gesturing behind him but never turning away from her.

"Really? how did you know I was here?" Leia asked, confused as to how she had missed everyone when she'd walked in.

"Chewie said he'd seen you walk in, but he waited for the kid before he followed you, as for being here? I didn't know you'd be here, I'm just a very good judge go character"

"What, so you think i'm the type of person who would come straight to your personal space?" Leia asked incredulously.

"That you are, sweetheart" he said, with a wink. "Ok, come on lets go kick some sabacc ass"

"Did you really just say that?" Leia said, accompanied with a little laugh.

"Yes I did, who knows where this night will go, princess"

They had been playing and drinking for hours, it seemed as though the night was running away with itself, Luke seemed more drunk than the rest, and whilst Leia had been carefully monitoring what she drank, she was on the edge of sobriety. The last thing she needed was to get drunk, she had a lot of work tomorrow and she didn't trust herself around Han at the moment.

"HA! I win!" Leia heard Luke exclaim from his drunken state at the other side of the table, Leia couldn't help but laugh, he was defiantly an amusing drunk. She found herself sat next to Han, and though she tried to avoid his gaze and occasional touch, she found it hard, and occasionally caught his gaze and offered him a quick smile. Han appeared to be very far off drunk, which was annoying for Leia, because he had been drinking all night, needless to say he could take his drink.

"Okay, well done kid, I think you need to turn in for the night" Han said, standing up from his seat and moving to give Luke a hand standing up.

"What do I win?" Luke asked, smiling up at Han as he wrapped an arm around his back for support

"You win an astounding hangover for tomorrow" He said, patting him lightly on the back, Leia smiled at him, and Han noticed, winking at her again. "I'll be back soon, your worship, i'll just see to our very drunk companion over here"

Leia nodded, and started helping Chewie take the cups through to the cupboards down the hall, Han would be helping Luke back to his cabin, it wasn't far, so Leia figured if she hurried, she could leave before he got back. She tried to make quick work of organising the cupboard, but she was too small to reach, and she didn't want to bother Chewie who had since left to clear away the card deck, she began climbing on the worktops, and she carefully knelt down so she was at a height she could reach the cups and place them carefully down, she must have miscalculated how long she was there, because before she knew it, Han was stood very close behind her, leaning over her shoulder and placing the last two glasses in an orderly state next to each other.

He picked her up by the waist and eased her back down to the floor, Leia gave him a glare, as if to say 'you didn't need to do that' but before she had a chance to complain about him helping her, he smiled and said "No need to thank me, your highnessness"

"I wasn't planning on" she shot back, noting how he was still stood very close to her. "Are you going to let me move?"

"I wasn't planning on" He said, complimented with a devilish smirk

Her response died on her lips, instead coming out as an exhale of breath, and she looked up to him again, she realised his hands were at either side of her, blocking her in with her back to he counter she'd previously been knelt on, she didn't know how he managed to do this to her, she had never felt anything like this-

Suddenly, his face was very close to hers and she could feel his breath against her face, this was much different than earlier, last time, it had been a shock, this time, she knew exactly what he was thinking, and it scared her that she was thinking the same.

He was so close to kissing her, and suddenly, there was a loud crash as Chewie walked though the door, and Han abruptly jumped away from her, and turned around, giving what she could only imagine was a rather scary look, because Chewie appeared to laugh to himself, apologise and leave almost as quickly as he'd arrived.

Leia was embarrassed for a few seconds, and then Han turned his face back to hers, and she forgot everything, not even giving him a chance to apologise on behalf of his friend, Leia grabbed the back of his head and crashed his lips to hers, she didn't know if it was the alcohol, or her own sudden bout of confidence, but all her barriers were down, she completely lost herself in his kiss, so much so, she didn't even take note of when he lifted her up and placed her back on the counter, her legs wrapped around his waist for leverage, and she let his exploring tongue into her mouth, she gently massaged her hands through his hair, which he reciprocated by lightly digging his fingers into her waist, where his hands still rested.

She let his explorations continue, she had her eyes closed and was completely savouring the moment, it cleared her head, she felt as though no more problems would ever concern themselves with her, she was destined to be happy and blissful, it was so strange for her, Han moved his hands slightly up and down her sides, causing Leia to arch into his touch, a move that was clearly received by a small smile against her lips, this continued on for what felt like a long while.

she lightly pulled away from his touch after a few more moments, in all their haste they hadn't even taken into account breathing, she smiled at him, and rested her forehead to his, before giving him another light kiss on the lips. He gave her what looked like a smile of both happiness and shock, he gave her another gentle kiss on the lips.

"This is a habit I could happily fall into" Han said, still breathing harshly.

Leia simply laughed, and pushed against his shoulders gently, and Han took the hint and moved back, still holding onto her waist as she hopped down from the counter.

"Thanks for the alcohol" Leia said, making a move to leave, but Han lightly grabbed her upper arm, causing her to swivel round with a questioning look on her face.

"You could stay?' he asked, almost with a pleading look on his face.

"In your dreams, fly boy" Leia said, now walking out of the room, and leaving him stood alone, catching his breath.

'you don't know how true that is, sweetheart' Han thought to himself, as he heard the door to the falcon slide closed, and Leia walk away.


	4. Chapter 4

She woke up in a haze, her eyes took longer than usual to adjust to the bright light cascading through the small hatch she had in her quarters, the sky was always so bright on Hoth, with the snow and ice reflecting the light so violently that even as early as 5 in the morning, Leia would be awoken from the intensity of it.

As she rolled off her low-lying cot, the memories of the evening cake back to her, the drinking, the card games, Luke stumbling away drunk... and Han.

She felt oddly embarrassed, the drink and made her impulsive, under normal circumstances, she would never have said anything, she would never have done anything to imply that she even liked him, never mind making out with him in the Falcon, with Chewie just down the hall. She barely even recognised herself.

She put her hair up in a simple crown of braids, and put on another white snow suit, the same as the one she wore the day before, and the day before that, and for as long as she could remember them being on this lame excuse for a planet.

As she stood up, she realised she had a bit more to drink than she initially realised last night, the room spun in a few circles before she wearily took a few steps forward, the door opened and she began her day.

X

Han was already awake when the base began to grow lighter as morning rolled in, he had trouble sleeping, his thoughts were very consumed recently by a certain little princess. He was more conflicted with himself, he had never felt anything like this about anyone, he'd known Leia for just over two years, and he had to admit, she'd been insufferable for a long time, everything she did he found some way to criticise, or try and find fault with her, it had taken him a long time to realise that he never truly could find fault.

It had taken him a long time to accept it, but he started noticing the way she swayed when she walked, the way she hid her face when she laughed, how, on the rare occasions he got to see her genuinely smile, she'd look him in the eye, and it would be like nobody else was around. It took him a long time to accept that he was in love with her.

And so, he'd kissed her, in the spur of the moment after yet another one of their arguments, he'd pulled her close and locked their lips together, and she responded, and now, he was in an even more awkward position than before. He knew she felt something, but getting her to admit that, he knew that would take a long time, and he'd be lucky to get her to even acknowledge those feelings were there.

He'd invited her to game night, which went about as well as it could, but she left. Han didn't want to pressure her, it would be wrong of him to do that, sometimes he forgot how young she was, he put it down to the fact she had to act so much older than she was, he found himself wondering if she'd ever been able to act like a teenager.

He'd been up working on his ship for a while now, the base was slowly coming alive around him, the usual people walking up and down, the occasional droid noisily stumbling past, offering up some insufferable reason to stay and talk, he made a habit of working inside, but he couldn't avoid the external panels forever, and so today would be a day of small talk and ship parts that refused to do what they were supposed to.

He'd already spoken to two droids and a trainee pilot who came to introduce himself- as though he didn't already know who Han was. He hated being the centre of attention, he was a smuggler, he spent his life avoiding people and now his name was known across the galaxies 'a war hero' he sometimes found himself wishing for the days that he would hide from all that.

He heard the footprints approaching from behind him but didn't bother turning around, instead he just decided it would be easier to pretend he was too busy, so he lowered his head and made more noise.

"The silent treatment? How mature" came the female voice from behind him, Han smiled to himself and spun around where he sat.

"I thought you were the paparazzi" he joked, jumping down to stand before her.

"I'm sorry to disappoint" she smiled, crossing her arms over her chest.

"It's no trouble, I've already fought off enough social interaction for one week" he said, giving a small half smile.

"Do we need to talk?" Leia asked cautiously, staring at her feet.

"I thought we were"

"Han, I'm serious, what are... I mean are we?..." she stumbled.

Han sighed "Look sweetheart" he said, placing a hand on her upper arm "You were a bit out of it last night, so I won't hold anything against you... but if you think we need to talk then we'll talk"

"Han I..."

"Princess Leia! Good morning miss, did you sleep well?" C3-PO's voice rattled through both of them and they jumped apart "And Captain Solo! How good to see you!"

"Threepeeo, good morning" Leia said, catching her breath.

"Would you like me to do anything for you, miss?" He asked

"No that's alright, I'll come and find you later if I do, thank you"

"Most certainly! Goodbye!" And he slowly walked away.

"So, as you were saying..." Han began once he was far enough away.

"I... I have to go, I'll see you later..." she mumbled before darting away.

Han called after her, but decided not to pursue her, the last thing he wanted was to make a scene in front of everyone, he was fine with arguments... but this... this was an entirely different situation.

He knew Leia would come back, she always came back.

X

Leia had a meeting she had to get to, it was nothing major, just a weekly review of supplies, food, and any intel on imperial movements, it had been quiet recently, which only put her on edge even more. The meeting dragged, pointless queries and what seemed like a hundred questions she couldn't answer, she hated seeming incompetent, and she had to remind herself that all those in the room with her had the same problems to deal with, she wasn't alone.

It took an eon, but the meeting subsided, and she ushered everyone out of the room, she decided to stay for a while to catch up on some admin, it was rare paperwork needed doing, so Leia decided the sacrifice of one night doing work wasn't all that bad.

She was working at a relatively fast pace, she got more done than she'd anticipated in the 2 hours she'd be alone, but her peace was disturbed by C3-PO anxiously walking through the door, R2-D2 close behind him.

"Mistress Leia, Master Skywalker And Captain Solo we're inquiring as to your whereabouts, thy seemed awfully concerned"

"Thanks Threepeeo" Leia said, exhaling and proceeding to leave the room, asking the droid to clear her papers for her.

"Most certainly, I do believe they would like you to meet them in the dining area"

Leia nodded in acknowledgment and proceeded to walk through the frozen halls, smiling repetitively at everyone she walked past.

She made it to the hall, there were a few tables full of people socialising, and she caught sight of Luke sat alone near the corner of the room.

She sat down and looked at him inquisitively, Luke just shook his head gently and placed his head in his hands.

"You don't look so good" Leia joked.

"I feel like someone is crushing my skull"

"And that is what drink does to you, my dear friend" she smiled

Luke just looked at her before his head fell to the table with a small thud.

"Uh, where's Han?" Leia asked, staring at her hands, as though asking about him would reveal whatever was going on between them.

"Why, Miss me princess?" A voice from behind her said, she turned and saw him walking back over with three drinks in his hand. "Luke looked rough so I got him some water, and got carried away and got us all one"

"Why did you send threepeeo to come and get me?" Leia asked, taking one of the drinks from him.

"Why do you assume it was me?" He said suggestively

"Well, Luke can barely hold his own head up, so I just presumed"

Han smiled, before holding his glass up, and then taking a drink.

"Is something wrong?" Leia asked, noticing he still hadn't answered her question.

"No" Han said.

"What then?"

"You never take a break, so I wanted to see if you wanted to have a drink with us for a change"

"How considerate of you" Leia smiled, taking a sip of her drink. "I think he's asleep" Leia laughed, looking at Luke.

He made a groaning sound, telling her he wasn't, but may as well have been.

"You know you don't have anything to prove, you can to go back to your quarters and sleep it off" Leia smiled, to which Luke nodded gently and rolled over, standing, swaying, catching his balance and began walking away, leaving Leia and Han alone.

"You know you don't have anything to prove, you can take the rest of the day off and come back to the falcon with me" Han said, wiggling his eyebrow jokingly.

"That's a strangely nice offer coming from you, Captain"

"Well, you know, there are lots of repairs and the place is a mess, some help is never going to be turned down" he smiled, sarcasm evident in his tone.

"Okay then"

Han looked up from his drink, almost in disbelief. "Really, princess?"

"Yeah, that place needs someone who knows what to do to clean it up anyway" she smiled, finishing off her drink.

"I'm sure we're going to have a great time... cleaning, I mean" Han smiled, standing, and walking with Leia towards the hanger.


End file.
